OnlyIfItPleases Read online

  She opened her eyes. She tried to keep her voice level—not too challenging nor frosty, but not obsequiously submissive either. “May I get my dress back on, Master Hart?” she asked.

  He considered it for a moment, and then nodded. “Yes, Vanessa. And drink the rest of that water too.”

  “You’ll let me go pee when I need to go?” The comment of the one Dom had her wondering what kind of predicaments Hart found interesting, exactly.

  He looked at her crossly. Maybe he made the same connection, and he didn’t appreciate it. “Yes, I will let you pee when you need to. You don’t even need to ask.” He swatted her on the butt. “Now go get dressed. Your work is done. I’m expecting the rest of this to go on for about a half an hour after the break. You can stay and listen, or wander, if you like. Kevin’s sub is upstairs watching TV if you’d rather pass on the class.”

  Part of her wanted to stay and listen to him talk about the things he might like to do for another predicament. She had enjoyed the challenge, in a way. It appealed to her stubborn streak. And hell, she’d be happy to listen to him read his grocery list. But that kind of thought wasn’t good for a woman trying hard not to fall in love with a man she couldn’t have. And if he did describe scenarios, well—he’d be doing them with someone else, not her.

  She got dressed in a hurry and went upstairs, carrying her water bottle. She definitely needed some space, and maybe the advice of another woman and a fellow submissive.

  Chapter Eight

  Hart could barely focus on the questions he was asked by the dozen Dominants. At least Vanessa was out of the room. If she was there, listening, he’d probably be even more distracted. He couldn’t keep her out of his head.

  He liked to design his predicaments with an out for the sub, and in the one he’d used in the demo, all Vanessa had to do was lean back and the clothespins would pop off. He’d expected her to do it a lot sooner, but he hadn’t calculated on her stubbornness. Then, in the middle of the demonstration, he’d half forgotten what he was doing. Yes, distracting a sub in the middle of a predicament bondage situation was absolutely part of the fun, but once he’d slipped his fingers inside her he had gone completely out of teaching mode. He’d wanted to master her and he had, making her come at his command. Now the demonstration, which he’d planned for weeks, was an unwelcome diversion from time with Vanessa.

  He wondered how well Vanessa was getting along with John, Kevin’s sub. John and Kevin lived together and practiced their D/s relationship full-time. They were among the happiest people Hart knew, but he couldn’t imagine anything like that working for him. A relationship, maybe. Vanessa was starting to make him reconsider that part.

  That’s your dick thinking. You’re not in love. You’re in lust. Don’t let it guide you.

  When he was finally done, he headed upstairs and found Vanessa sleeping, her head resting on John’s shoulders while a cheesy cop movie from the seventies played on the television. He had to fight back a surge of irrational jealousy. The man was built, with thick muscles and a handsome, chiseled face. That’s my girl you’re cuddling. But Vanessa didn’t belong to him, and John was gay. He forced himself to smile at John, as if he were happy the other man was taking care of his sub.

  “Hello, Master Hart,” said John, who lowered his gaze. Hart would rather people looked him in the eye, submissive or otherwise, but he knew John was only doing what Kevin had directed. It wasn’t about him. It was about the dynamic between John and his Master.

  “Hello, John.” He noticed an empty water bottle on the coffee table and smiled. She’d followed directions. She was so peaceful it was a shame to disturb her. If she’d been leaning on his own shoulder, he wouldn’t have. “Thank you for taking care of her.”

  John nodded and looked up. The man’s look was surprisingly icy. What the hell? Kevin would not be pleased, but Hart wasn’t going to tell him until he understood why. He sat down next to Vanessa and tapped her arm.

  Vanessa startled awake and looked over at him. He reached out for her, uncertain given John’s look of his reception, but to his relief she lurched into his arms and wrapped her own arms around his shoulders.

  “How long was I out?”

  Hart looked at John.

  “Just a few minutes,” John said. “You missed the car chase.”

  “Damn!” exclaimed Vanessa. Hart wasn’t sure if she was being sarcastic or not, and he didn’t think John could tell either.

  Hart chuckled. “I’ll take you home.”

  “Let me hit the bathroom first, please.”

  “Of course.”

  “Down the hall, first door on the left,” John said.

  Vanessa extricated herself from his arms and headed that way. A gaggle of attendees filled the living room, still chatting about ways to tie their subs up. Apparently, despite his focus being elsewhere, the demo had been a success.

  He scooted close to John, not wanting to be overheard. “Do you want to tell me about that look you gave me?” he asked. He knew there was an implied threat to his question, and that Kevin would give John a beating if Hart mentioned it. Then again, John might enjoy that. BDSM could be so simple, and it could be so complicated. He didn’t want to threaten John, but if it concerned Vanessa he wanted to know what was going on.

  “She’s falling in love with you,” said John in hushed, clipped tones. “You chew them up and spit them out. I don’t like it from a distance and I especially don’t like it when they are crying on my shoulder.”

  “I do not chew them up and spit them out. Every woman I play with is aware from the start that it’s temporary.” And with this one, it’s going to hurt to let her go. But it’s going to require all my energy to get the club up and going.

  “Doesn’t mean they believe it.”

  He didn’t have an answer to that. He was always very clear. That should be enough, shouldn’t it? He didn’t owe anyone anything more than that. If they didn’t accept that, then they weren’t being honest with him.

  Fuck.

  When he said he’d take her home, he meant he’d take her to his home. Another night together, a ball game, some sex after—and then they’d be done, forever. His heart clenched. If what John said was true, though, he should take her back to her house, now.

  “I’ll take care of it,” he said.

  “Yeah. I know.” John made a face at him.

  Fortunately, his phone buzzed right at that moment. He’d turned it back on just after the demo was over, and the interruption was a welcome one. John wasn’t the issue—it was what he was confronting inside himself he didn’t like. He pulled out the phone. It was Matt, his old friend who was helping with the settlement on the warehouse. Why the hell is he calling late on a Saturday night? Still, if he was, it was probably important. Hopefully everything was about to be resolved and he could move forward with that—which would be the perfect distraction from his growing feelings for Vanessa. And hers for him. “Gotta take this,” he said. “Tell Vanessa I’m outside.”

  He got up, cell phone in hand, waving to Kevin as he left, with a nod toward the phone for explanation. “Hart here. What’s up?” he asked as he crossed the threshold.

  “This is Matt. I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for the last few hours. Where have you been?”

  He hadn’t had the phone on since he turned it off to drive Vanessa to her house. “Busy. Had a BDSM demo to do.”

  Matt groaned. Everything about Matt said to Hart that Matt was a Dominant. He knew about Hart’s lifestyle, but had rejected his invitations to come to any events. He didn’t know what held Matt back, exactly, but there was something. In any case, he was a good lawyer and a good friend.

  “I just heard from the Robertsons. Well, I heard from them hours ago. The deal’s off, Hart. I’m sorry.”

  “What? Why?” They’d agreed to the terms. They’d done everything but sign the contract.

  “They’ve had a change of heart. A friend of theirs did some investigating apparently, an
d found out who you are. What you do.”

  He doubted Matt meant that he was in construction. He’d never been secretive about what he did for recreation, although he didn’t push it in people’s faces. Some people used scene names, but that wasn’t him. “So?”

  “So they are insisting on writing into the contract that the property could not be used for anything involving nudity, sex or BDSM. I didn’t want to tell them that meant no deal without asking you first.”

  “You know that means no deal.”

  “Yeah. Still had to ask.”

  “Dammit!” He’d spent months on the project, and now he had to start over. “They agreed in principle already. I thought it was just the final paperwork they needed to sign.”

  “We could sue, and we might win some damages, but it will take a long time and the odds that you end up with the property instead of a few thousand dollars in settlement are not high. You’d be better off finding a new place.”

  “I see.”

  “I’m sorry, Hart.”

  “It’s not your fault. Listen, I gotta go, but I’ll be in touch. Thanks for the call.”

  “No problem.”

  Hart hung up. He took a moment to collect himself. There wasn’t anything he could do about it now. And oddly, he felt a sense of relief. He didn’t have to worry about focusing on the club for a while. Perhaps he could keep Vanessa for another week or more. If she was willing. Or maybe that would just make it harder for her when the inevitable happened.

  But is it so inevitable?

  He opened the door. Figuring that out was going to take a lot longer than a few moments, and he didn’t want to keep Vanessa waiting.

  They drove back together. Vanessa chatted about the pottery shop and Hart listened. There was no trace of the tears John had told him about. He told her what had happened with the club, and his dreams for what it could do for the community. She listened attentively and approvingly, and he wondered why he found it so easy to talk to her when he’d kept his plan a secret from his closest friends.

  He took her to his apartment as he’d originally planned. Whether that was because he’d been driving on automatic pilot or because he’d actually made a decision, he didn’t know, but he did know he had no desire to give Vanessa up. They had less than 24 hours left if he was going to get her home on Sunday night as promised, and that was starting to seem all too short. Hell, he could spend that much time just in bed with her without the baseball game. He wondered if she’d be disappointed if they skipped the game. What he’d been looking forward to well before he met her now seemed an unwelcome distraction.

  “You’ve gone quiet. Is something wrong? Have I done something wrong?” Vanessa asked in the elevator.

  “Just enjoying the company.”

  “You were—different, in the car. As if we weren’t Dominant and submissive anymore, just two friends. I don’t want to be just friends. And the more we do that, the more it’s going to hurt when you let me go. I think you better not be too nice to me.”

  Not too nice to her? But he wanted to cherish and protect her. She had shown such a willingness to give. The way she struggled to keep the clothespins on. The way she eagerly took his cock deep into her mouth. She was a giver, a pleaser. She deserved someone nice. And someone who would stick around. He needed to figure out whether he was that person.

  He kissed her hard, pressing her back against the wall of the elevator as the numbers ticked by. His cock hardened against her belly and he knew she could feel it.

  “Take what you want,” she whispered into his ear.

  Fuck. What he wanted was to push here to her knees and push his cock into her mouth. Or lift her and thrust his hard cock in her sweet pussy with nothing in between, despite what he’d said earlier. He wanted to possess her completely. Even though she knew they were temporary, she seemed to want that too. She was too good for him. He didn’t remember ever thinking that about a woman before. He was her Dom and he needed to protect her, no matter how badly he wanted to fuck her. No matter how late at night it was, that meant not getting caught having sex on the elevator.

  The door opened on his floor and he scooped her up into his arms.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, tugging the hem of her dress down. He supposed she was rather exposed the way he was carrying her, but he’d turn her to protect her modesty in the unlikely event they encountered anyone in the hall.

  “Taking what I want,” he growled. “And trying to avoid doing it in the hallway.” She was still wearing heels, and he doubted she could walk in them as fast as he could carry her.

  She giggled. “What do you want?” she teased.

  “You.”

  He set her down to swipe the key card. Conscious of her request not to be too nice, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside as soon as he had the door open. He marched her across the floor, her heels clacking on the floor. He didn’t care what damage they did to the finish at this point.

  “Shouldn’t I be taking my shoes off?”

  “Everything’s coming off eventually,” he said. He pushed her to the couch, then reached out to cradle and guide her fall onto the soft cushions. She shrieked in surprise.

  He didn’t think he’d last very long the way he was right now, and as much as he wanted to empty his balls into her he knew he’d enjoy it more if he could make the moment last. He’d spent a day training her. Now it was time for something more primal. He knelt down on the floor and grabbed her ankles, pulling them forward and apart. She gasped. Good. Off balance was a good way for her to be.

  The hem of her dress slid up and her pussy glistened. He didn’t hesitate. He yanked the dress up a little farther and bent down to taste her, licking along her folds. She tasted metallic, tart and sweet. Her wetness beckoned to be filled. He thrust two fingers inside her as he moved his oral attentions to her clit, just now protruding from its hood. When he flicked his tongue on that precious pearl, she shuddered deliciously.

  He licked and teased her until he could feel her pussy flutter and her breath grow ragged. Then he drew back. She stared at him with need. “Please.”

  “You want to come?” he asked.

  She looked confused for a moment. She shook her head, then nodded. And then, as if she’d just rediscovered the ability to talk, she said, “I want to please you too.”

  He loved being able to fully concentrate on a woman’s pleasure, or less frequently, his own. It was one of the things that had attracted him to BDSM. A bound woman couldn’t distract him from making her come. A submissive woman wouldn’t mind focusing on him. Perhaps it created a kind of distance as well as intensity, to focus on just one partner’s pleasure.

  He ought to want that distance now, but he didn’t. He climbed up onto the couch and pulled her under him, stretching out lengthwise. He couldn’t get enough of the taste of her. As her fingers worked open his jeans, he plunged his tongue into her pussy, lapping up her juices. His cock sprang free and she ran her tongue along the tip. He lowered himself, feeling her lips slide over his cock to welcome him in. Possibly he should reverse the position, so that she’d have more control of how much of him she took, but he wasn’t in the mood to let her be on top. Don’t be too nice to her. It was good advice, but not for the reason she gave. He didn’t think he’d want to give her up, but he yearned to have her like not just the careful Dom in him but also the animal inside.

  The part I never show anyone else.

  He pushed his fingers back inside and returned his tongue to her clit. He could feel her breath hot against the base of his cock, but it would give him no clues as to her approaching orgasm because his cock in her mouth could turn her breath ragged as easily as her arousal. He had difficulty concentrating as she moved her head up to take even more of him in. He’d thought he’d been pushing her, pressing up too close to the back of her throat, and yet she still took more. His balls tightened.

  He bent to her pussy with a will, flicking her tender nub and pressing his fingers against her
G-spot. Her thighs clenched. She can’t ask for permission with her mouth full. She’s trying not to come. What a good girl. But he didn’t want a good girl now. He licked mercilessly, trying to hold back his own impending climax. It was a contest now, a tussle between him and her as to who would give first. A contest he was determined to win, no matter how much his cock ached as she sucked on it.

  He barely did. As soon as her hips bucked and her pussy clenched down hard on his fingers, his cum surged up his cock and into her amazing mouth. He could feel her swallow. He pushed up his hips, worried about choking her, and she moaned and swirled her tongue against him. He squeezed her ass as her tremors subsided and she sucked the last bit of cum from him. She didn’t stop even then. At last, reluctantly, he pulled back from her, his barely softened cock leaving her tight lips with an audible pop.

  He rolled off and sat up, pulling her into his arms. She kissed him, tentatively at first until he deepened it. The taste of him was strong on her tongue. For a long minute they stayed there, lips locked and tongues swirling.

  When she pulled back, the only reason he let go was because he assumed she was short of breath. Her lips held a smile but her eyes spoke of sadness. “I can sleep on the couch this time. The Master should sleep in the bed. Especially as it’s your bed.”

  Her hunger to give was all too apparent. She was trying, he realized, to make it easy for him. Her body was soft, and even if she was sad, it was relaxed, as if she’d melted completely into submission to him.

  Hell if I’m giving that up.

  “We’re sleeping together,” he said. He grabbed her dress and pulled it over her head, marveling anew at the generous curves of her delicious body.

  “But last night…” she said.

  “Was then. And tonight is tonight.” And I’m keeping you, if you’ll let me.

  She smiled again, and it reached her eyes this time. “Okay.”